Clinton Talks Justice at Columbia University

Yesterday, Hillary Rodham Clinton was in New York to attend a number of fundraisers with Wall Street business executives, but today, she took part in the David N. Dinkins Leadership & Public Policy Forum at Columbia University where she spoke openly about the issues facing the justice system. Following protests in Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore, and other states, Clinton had strong statements about the need to reform aspects of the justice system. While she condemned the violent measures taken by some of the protesters in Baltimore, she admitted that there is a lot of work to be done to ensure that racial bias does not hinder justice.

She said, “Not only as a mother and grandmother, but as a citizen, a human being, my heart breaks for these young men and their families. We have to come to terms with some hard truths about race and justice in America.” She went to say that we need to reconsider the system that relies on incarceration and turn our focus to a “true national debate about how to reduce our prison population while keeping our communities safe.” Clinton admitted that she didn’t have all the answers, but rising costs and incarceration rates require coming up with meaningful solutions.

This was the first time since announcing her candidacy for the presidency that Clinton has talked about a policy that could become a centerpiece of her platform. The full video from the event is available above.